Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Tuesday his office will charge Nick Reiner with two counts of first-degree murder in the fatal stabbings of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner.
Prosecutors will also note aggravating factors of “multiple murders” and that Nick Reiner allegedly used a dangerous weapon, a knife.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of life without possibility of parole or the death penalty, but Hochman cautioned that “no decision has been made” whether or not to pursue the death penalty.
California only brings the death penalty in exceedingly rare circumstances. The last prisoner executed in the state was in 2016.
“Prosecuting these cases involving family members are some of the most challenging and most heartwrenching cases that this office faces because of the intimate and often brutal nature of the crimes involved,” Hochman said.
